THE iconic Bunyip Hotel in Cavendish has had to close its doors until dining restrictions were eased due to a ruling that declared a covered deck at the rear of the building was an indoor space.

Owner, Matt Nettleton said the decision meant he would have had to further limit numbers of people who could dine in-person and this made running the business unviable for the time being.

“We've had a number of anonymous complaints to the police that we were over capacity, which we honestly believe that we weren't based on the legislation that we had read and the rules we were following,” he said.

“We had a visit from our local police officer, and he went through the legislation as well and believed that we were also OK.”